House passes bill to cancel taxes for low-income manufactured home owners

Here’s some unusual news these days: A group of Oregonians is on its way to a tax break after the Oregon House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill Wednesday that will eliminate property taxes for Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas and Lane county residents who own inexpensive manufactured homes.

House Bill 3640 cancels property taxes on manufactured homes assessed at less than $15,000 in the four counties. The bill must go to the Senate.

The bill came out of the Multnomah County tax assessor’s office after it found the majority of those who owned manufactured homes worth less than $15,000 were delinquent even though their tax bills might only be $100 a year.

The people living in these homes tend to live at the poverty line — 66 percent of manufactured home owners statewide earn a household income less than $30,000 — and the taxes pose a serious financial hardship.

The tax assessor found that it cost the counties more to try to collect the taxes than the amount they collect and that the resources would be better spent on people who owe larger sums of money.

Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Eugene, sponsored the bill. She said 94 percent of Lane County residents in manufactured homes valued at less than $15,000 are behind on property taxes. State law already provides this exemption for floating homes.

The bill “is good public policy, and it’s good social policy,” Hoyle said. “This allows our county assessors to use their time and resources more efficiently, and it provides relief for some of the people who are most in need.”

The bill is not mandatory and would only cover the four counties that wanted to sign on.

Multnomah Commissioner Deborah Kafoury said a Cully resident who lives in an inexpensive manufactured home stopped by her office last week asking for help because he is unable to pay his tax bill and had wracked up fees that put him in fear of losing the roof over his head. This bill would help such people, she said.

Multnomah County has 270 delinquent accounts for homeowners in this category.

“We are trying to help the poor people in Multnomah County who are already struggling,” Kafoury said. “This would allow people to stay in their homes.”